This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10167, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

The development of intelligent miniaturized nano-bio-and info-tech based sensors capable of wireless communication will fundamentally change the way we monitor and treat patients with chronic disease and after surgery. These new sensors will allow the monitoring of the patients as they maintain their normal daily activities, and provide warning to healthcare workers when critical events arise. This will facilitate early discharge of patients from hospitals as well as providing reassurance to patients and family that potential problems will be detected at an early stage. The use of continuous monitoring allows both transient and progressive abnormalities to be reliably detected thus avoiding the problems of conventional diagnosis and monitoring methods where by data is captured only for a brief period during hospital/clinic visits. We have been working with a printable organic semiconductor and thin film transistor, and have fabricated and tested various biosensors that can measure important physiological signs before and after surgery. Integrated into "smart" fabrics - garments with wireless technology – and independent e-bandaid sensors, nanosensors in tattoos and socks, minimally invasive implantable devices, the sensor systems will be able to monitor a patient's condition in real time and thus provide point-of-care diagnostics to health-care professionals and greater freedom for patients.

This talk focuses on preparation, characterization and micropatterning of electrically conducting KETJENBLACK carbon black nanoparticle (80 nm-diameter) doped Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by employing extrusion mixing. Previously, we had reported fabrication of various micropatternable nanocomposites for wearable sensing applications vis solvent assisted ultrasonic mixing technique[1-16] . Extrusion mixing has an advantage as no organic solvents are used and homogenous dispersion of carbon nanoparticles is observed, which is confirmed by SEM analysis. The developed nanocomposite can be micropatterened using standard microfabrication techniques. It is also observed that percolation threshold occurs at 0.51 wt% of carbon nanoparticles in polymer matrix. Examples of developed nano-composites for wearable sensing applications for precision medicine will also be discussed. References: 1.http://summit.sfu.ca/item/12017 A. Khosla. Micropatternable multifunctional nanocomposite polymers for flexible soft MEMS applications. Diss. Applied Science: School of Engineering Science, 2011. 2. A. Khosla ; B. L. Gray; Fabrication of multiwalled carbon nanotube polydimethylsiloxne nanocomposite polymer flexible microelectrodes for microfluidics and MEMS. Proc. SPIE 7642, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2010, 76421V (April 09, 2010); doi:10.1117/12.847292. 3. Ang Li ; Ajit Khosla ; Connie Drewbrook ; Bonnie L. Gray; Fabrication and testing of thermally responsive hydrogel-based actuators using polymer heater elements for flexible microvalves. Proc. SPIE 7929, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems IX, 79290G (February 14, 2011); doi:10.1117/12.873197. 4. Khosla, A. and Gray, B. L. (2010), Preparation, Micro-Patterning and Electrical Characterization of Functionalized Carbon-Nanotube Polydimethylsiloxane Nanocomposite Polymer. Macromol. Symp., 297: 210–218. doi:10.1002/masy.200900165 5. A. Khosla ; D. Hilbich ; C. Drewbrook ; D. Chung ; B. L. Gray; Large scale micropatterning of multi-walled carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposite polymer on highly flexible 12×24 inch substrates. Proc. SPIE 7926, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology XVI, 79260L (February 15, 2011); doi:10.1117/12.876738. 6. A. Khosla, and Bonnie L. Gray. "(Invited) Micropatternable Multifunctional Nanocomposite Polymers for Flexible Soft NEMS and MEMS Applications." ECS Transactions 45.3 (2012): 477-494. doi: 10.1149/1.3700913 7. Khosla, Ajit. "Nanoparticle-doped electrically-conducting polymers for flexible nano-micro Systems." Electrochemical Society Interface 21.3-4 (2012): 67-70. 8. Ajit Khosla; Smart garments in chronic disease management: progress and challenges. Proc. SPIE 8548, Nanosystems in Engineering and Medicine, 85482O (October 24, 2012); doi:10.1117/12.979667. 9. D. Chung ; A. Khosla ; B. L. Gray; Screen printable flexible conductive nanocomposite polymer with applications to wearable sensors. Proc. SPIE 9060, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2014, 90600U (April 16, 2014); doi:10.1117/12.2046548. 10. Daehan Chung ; Sam Seyfollahi ; Ajit Khosla ; Bonnie Gray ; Ash Parameswaran ; Ramani Ramaseshan ; Kirpal Kohli; Initial experiments with flexible conductive electrodes for potential applications in cancer tissue screening. Proc. SPIE 7929, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems IX, 79290Z (February 14, 2011); doi:10.1117/12.875563. 11. A. Khosla ; B. L. Gray; New technologies for large-scale micropatterning of functional nanocomposite polymers. Proc. SPIE 8344, Nanosensors, Biosensors, and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems 2012, 83440W (April 26, 2012); doi:10.1117/12.915178. 12. A. Khosla, B.L. Gray, Preparation, characterization and micromolding of multi-walled carbon nanotube polydimethylsiloxane conducting nanocomposite polymer, Materials Letters, Volume 63, Issues 13–14, 31 May 2009, Pages 1203-1206, ISSN 0167-577X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2009.02.043. 13. Giassa, M., Khosla, A., Gray, B. et al. J Electron Test (2010) 26: 139. doi:10.1007/s10836-009-5125-3 14.Ozhikandathil, Jayan, Ajit Khosla, and Muthukumaran Packirisamy. "Electrically Conducting PDMS Nanocomposite Using In Situ Reduction of Gold Nanostructures and Mechanical Stimulation of Carbon Nanotubes and Silver Nanoparticles." ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 4.10 (2015): S3048-S3052. doi:10.1149/2.0091510jss 15. Kassegne, Sam, Maria Vomero, Roberto Gavuglio, Mieko Hirabayashi, Emre Özyilmaz, Sebastien Nguyen, Jesus Rodriguez, Eda Özyilmaz, Pieter van Niekerk, and Ajit Khosla. "Electrical impedance, electrochemistry, mechanical stiffness, and hardness tunability in glassy carbon MEMS μECoG electrodes." Microelectronic Engineering 133 (2015): 36-44. 16. A. Khosla ; B. L. Gray; Fabrication and properties of conductive micromoldable thermosetting polymer for electronic routing in highly flexible microfluidic systems. Proc. SPIE 7593, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems VIII, 759314 (February 17, 2010); doi:10.1117/12.840911.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a cardiovascular disease that affects about 5.7 million people in the US. The most prevalent comorbidity to CHF is Atrial Fibrillation (AF). These two pathologies present in a mutually worsening manner in that patients diagnosed with CHF are more likely to develop AF and patients who are diagnosed with AF are more likely to develop CHF. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have been studied for several years and the most recent efforts are in the cellular and molecular basis. In this paper, we focus on manifestation of CHF and AF symptoms as influenced by the posture assumed by a patient. We consider three postures – Left lateral decubitus, right lateral decubitus and supine. We review the clinical evidence gathered thus far relating enhanced sympathetic activity to the left lateral decubitus and supine positions with equivalent evidence on the enhanced vagal activity when the right lateral decubitus posture is assumed. We conclude with a compilation of all the hypotheses on the mechanism by which the right lateral decubitus posture alleviates the symptoms of CHF and AF, and future avenues for investigation.

Ventricular arrhythmias in the heart and the rapid heartbeat of ventricular tachycardia can lead to sudden cardiac death. This is a major health issue worldwide. What is needed is to develop a catheter based sensor and mapping approach which will provide the mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmia, and effectively prevent and treat the same, potentially save life.

3D printing technology is becoming useful and applicable by the progress of information and communication technology (ICT). It means 3D printer is a kind of useful robot for additive manufacturing and is controlled by computer with human-friendly software. Once user starts to use 3D printing of soft-matter, one can immediately understand computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering (CAE) technology will be more important and applicable for soft-matter systems. User can easily design soft-matter objects and 3D-print them. User can easily apply 3D-printed soft-matter objects to develop new research and application on MEMS and robotics. Here we introduce the recent progress of 3D printing (i.e. additive manufacturing), especially focusing on our 3D gel printing. We are trying to develop new advanced research and applications of 3D gel printer, including GEL-MECHANICS, GEL-PHOTONICS, and GEL-ROBOTICS. In the gel-mechanics, we are developing new gel materials for mechanical engineering. Some gels have high-mechanical strength and shape memory properties. In the gel-photonics. We are applying our original characterizing system, named ‘Scanning Microscopic Light Scattering (SMILS)’, to analyze 3D printed gel materials. In the gel-robotics, we focus on 3D printing of soft parts for soft-robotics made form gel materials, like gel finger. Also we are challenging to apply 3D gel printing to start new company, to innovate new businesses in county side, and to create new 3D-printed foods.

Neurocardiology is the pathophysiological interplay of nervous and cardiovascular systems. The communication between the heart and brain has revealed various methodologies in healthcare that could be investigated to study the heart-brain interactions and other cardiovascular and neurological diseases. A textile based wearable nanosensor system in the form of e-bra, e-shirt, e-headband, e-brief, underwear etc, was presented in this SPIE conferences earlier for noninvasive recording of EEG and EKG, and showing the correlation between the brain and heart signals. In this paper, the technology is expanded further using fractal based geometries using 3D printing system for low cost and flexible wearable sensor system for healthcare.

Today, application of 3D printing technology for medical use is getting popular. It strongly helps to make complicated shape of body parts with functional materials. We can complement injured, weakened or lacked parts, and recover original shape and functions.

However, these cases are mainly focusing on the symptom itself, not on everyday lives of patients. With life span extending, many of us will live a life with chronic disease for long time. Then, we should think about our living environment more carefully. For example, we can make personalized everyday objects and support their body and mind.

Therefore, we use 3D printing for making everyday objects from nursing / healthcare perspective. In this project, we have 2 main research questions.

The first one is how to make objects which patients really require. We invited many kinds of people such as engineer, nurses and patients to our research activity. Nurses can find patient’s real demands firstly, and engineers support them with rapid prototyping. Finally, we found the best collaboration methodologies among nurses, engineers and patients.

The second question is how to trace and evaluate usages of created objects. Apparently, it’s difficult to monitor user’s activity for a long time. So we’re developing the IoT sensing system, which monitor activities remotely. We enclose a data logger which can lasts about one month with 3D printed objects. After one month, we can pick up the data from objects and understand how it has been used.

Gels are soft and wet materials having low friction, good biocompatibility, and material permeability. It is expected that gel materials will be used as new kinds of industrial materials in the engineering and medical applications. But it cannot build a complicated shape. Soft & Wet Matter Engineering Laboratory developed a 3D gel Printer "SWIM-ER", has enabled modeling of complex shapes of the gel. However, this is expensive. Therefore not all of the gel researchers and the companies have such a device. To solve this problem, we manufacture a low-cost open-source 3D gel printer "RepRap SWIM-ER" from the RepRap. We made the components required to manufacture the “RepRap SWIM-ER” from the 3D printer and chose a light source. In addition, we produced the P-DN gel for RepRap SWIM-ER and conducted the molding test to confirm whether RepRap SWIM-ER can used it.

Microscopy imaging optics can capture the high-resolution image at a certain focus plane, but the information outside that focal plane will become a blur and the information will be lost. We can adjust the optics stop or manually adjust the focal length, but the resolution will be reduced and it is capable of observing a high speed moving target in vivo. When a transparent plate was placed in front of a camera, the focusing point of the original system would be shifted. We proposed a variable focus system for extending the depth of field of the microscopy imaging system.

This study proposes and demonstrates the design, implementation, and characterization of a 3D-printed smartpolymer sensor array using conductive polyaniline (PANI) structures embedded in a polymeric substrate. The piezoresistive characteristics of PANI were studied to evaluate the efficacy of the manufacturing of an embedded pressure sensor. PANI’s stability throughout loading and unloading cycles together with the response to incremental loading cycles was investigated. It is demonstrated that this specially developed multi-material additive manufacturing process for polyaniline is a good candidate for the manufacture of implant components with smart-polymer sensors embedded for the analysis of joint loads in orthopaedic implants.

The objectives of this study are to prepare and investigate the optical and tensile properties of the obtained cellulose nanopaper structures. A ball mill mechanical pretreatment combined with a wet pulverization process by using an aqueous counter collision machine were used to extract CNFs from softwood and hardwood bleached kraft pulps. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) nanopapers were fabricated via vacuum filtration and oven drying method. The mechanical and optical properties of the fabricated nanopaper were investigated by using tensile test and UV-vis spectrometer. Results have shown that the softwood sample demonstrated better mechanical properties than the hardwood sample. UV-vis transmittance measurements did not indicate significant differences.

In the present investigation, calcinated tea-based cellulose composite films were fabricated via solution casting technique. The fabricated films were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The effect of calcinated tea loading on the properties of the calcinated tea-based cellulose composite films was studied. The results were showed that the calcinated tea composite films display better mechanical properties and dielectric constant than the pure cellulose films.

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) isolation from different resources influences the characteristics of the CNF. There are two methods to isolate CNFs, chemical and physical methods. This paper deals with a 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine- 1-oxylradical (TEMPO-oxidation) chemical method and aqueous counter collision physical method to isolate CNFs. TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber was isolated using an aqueous counter collision method from two cellulose resource including Softwood bleached kraft pulp (SW) and Hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HW) resources. The CNFs properties were studied by atomic force microscopy, cross-polarize light and UV visible spectrometer. The width of the isolated CNFs is in the range of 15 nm to 20 nm and the length of cellulose nanofibers is around 1000 nm. The HW-CNF offers better transmittance than the SW-CNF. High transmittance of CNF films from both SWCNF and HW-CNF was observed. In addition, the birefringence of CNFs was observed under cross polarized light. The SW-CNF and HW-CNF films showed birefringence phenomenon. More clear iridescence color of HW-CNF sample than that of SW-CNF case.

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has taken center stage as a future material with high specific strength, specific modulus and environmentally friendly behavior. However, natural CNFs are so randomly oriented that once CNFs are used in composites, their mechanical properties are not the same as expected from the CNFs. Thus, CNF alignment is important in fabricating composites and fibers. Interestingly, CNFs have negative diamagnetic anisotropy. In the presence of high magnetic field, the fiber axis of CNF can be aligned perpendicular to the applied field. This paper reports a preliminary study of CNF alignment by high dc magnetic field. The CNF emulsion is prepared by aqueous counter collision method and centrifugation. The CNF emulsion is placed in the high dc magnet and cured for a certain time. The alignment of CNF is investigated by scanning electron microscopy, mechanical tensile test.

Neurocardiology is the exploration of neurophysiological, neurological and neuroanatomical facets of neuroscience’s influence in cardiology. The paraphernalia of emotions on the heart and brain are premeditated because of the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system. This is an investigative attempt to study emotion based neurocardiology and the factors that influence this phenomenon. The factors include: interaction between sleep EEG (electroencephalogram) and ECG (electrocardiogram), relationship between emotion and music, psychophysiological coherence between the heart and brain, emotion recognition techniques, and biofeedback mechanisms. Emotions contribute vitally to the mundane life and are quintessential to a numerous biological and everyday-functional modality of a human being. Emotions are best represented through EEG signals, and to a certain extent, can be observed through ECG and body temperature. Confluence of medical and engineering science has enabled the monitoring and discrimination of emotions influenced by happiness, anxiety, distress, excitement and several other factors that influence the thinking patterns and the electrical activity of the brain. Similarly, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) widely investigated for its provision and discerning characteristics towards EEG and the perception in neurocardiology.

Epidermal electronic system is a class of hair thin, skin soft, stretchable sensors and electronics capable of continuous and long-term physiological sensing and clinical therapy when applied on human skin. The high cost of manpower, materials, and photolithographic facilities associated with its manufacture limit the availability of disposable epidermal electronics. We have invented a cost and time effective, completely dry, benchtop “cut-and-paste” method for the green, freeform and portable manufacture of epidermal electronics within minutes. We have applied the “cut-and-paste” method to manufacture epidermal electrodes, hydration and temperature sensors, conformable power-efficient heaters, as well as cuffless continuous blood pressure monitors out of metal thin films, two-dimensional (2D) materials, and piezoelectric polymer sheets. For demonstration purpose, we will discuss three examples of “cut-and-pasted” epidermal electronic systems in this paper. The first will be submicron thick, transparent epidermal graphene electrodes that can be directly transferred to human skin like a temporary transfer tattoo and can measure electrocardiogram (ECG) with signal-to-noise ratio and motion artifacts on par with conventional gel electrodes. The second will be a chest patch which houses both electrodes and pressure sensors for the synchronous measurements of ECG and seismocardiogram (SCG) such that beat-to-beat blood pressure can be inferred from the time interval between the R peak of the ECG and the AC peak of the SCG. The last example will be a highly conformable, low power consumption epidermal heater for thermal therapy.

In this paper, we demonstrate a polymeric humidity sensor made of a cellulose based composite nanofiber. The device measures humidity via a humidity induced electrical impedance change. The compact, efficient design of the fiber makes it ideal to incorporate into textiles for biometrics applications such as body fluid monitoring. Initial test results show that the sensor can measure between 20 to 80% relative humidity with a sensitivity of about 2%. The impedance of the sensor material changes relatively linearly with relative humidity. The sensor also shows a relatively fast response (~4s) compared to current commercial sensors.

Conducting polymer composites become increasingly significant for variety of applications in electrical and mechanical devices. Poly (ionic liquid)s (PILs) achieved remarkable interest in this field for the unique properties and added advantages in mechanical stability, improved processability, durability, and spatial controllability. Carbon nanotube (CNT) as filler material to the matrix of PIL can achieve the desired composite material with improved electrical and mechanical properties. In this work, we developed PIL-CNT nanocomposites by using quaternary ammonium type IL monomer and multiwall CNT. Their mechanical, thermal and thermomechanical properties have been studied and future possibilities of employing in electromechanical devices have been explored.

Titanium dioxide- carbon nanotube (TiO2-CNT) composites are promising for application of photocatalysis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a TiO2-CNTcomposite with reversible superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity for use in self-cleaning application. The amount of TiO2 precursor, the added water, and the reaction time were systematically studied to obtain a TiO2 layer with desired thickness coated on the surface of CNT. In addition, the heat-treatment was utilized to control the crystalline structure of TiO2 and the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of resulting TiO2-CNT composites. The photocatalytic activity of the developed composites was evaluated by the photodegradation of a methylene blue (MB) solution under the illumination of ultraviolet (UV) light at ambient temperature. Experimental results demonstrated that a layer of anatase TiO2 with thickness of 21nm, 27nm, or 65nm was successfully coated on the surface of CNT. The resulting TiO2-CNT composites are superhydrophobic, which the water contact angles ranged from 143o to126o based on the thickness of TiO2 layers. After subjected to a UV light, they became hydrophilic with a water contact angle less than 50o . Furthermore, the water contact angle of these TiO2-CNT composites restored to their original values without UV exposure, confirming they were with reversible superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity. Moreover, the developed TiO2-CNT composites also exhibited the capability of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB).

Since the development of quantum physics in the early part of the 1900s, this field of study has made remarkable contributions to our civilization. Some of these advances include lasers, light-emitting diodes (LED), sensors, spectroscopy, quantum dots, quantum gravity and quantum entanglements. In 1998, the NASA Langley Research Center established a quantum technology committee to monitor the progress in this area and initiated research to determine the potential of quantum technology for future NASA missions. The areas of interest in quantum technology at NASA included fundamental quantum-optics materials associated with quantum dots and quantum wells, device-oriented photonic crystals, smart optics, quantum conductors, quantum information and computing, teleportation theorem, and quantum energetics. A brief review of the work performed, the progress made in advancing these technologies, and the potential NASA applications of quantum technology will be presented.

Thermoelectric junctions made of semiconductors have existed in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) for deep space missions, but are currently being adapted for terrestrial energy harvesting. Unfortunately, these devices are inefficient, operating at only 7% efficiency. This low efficiency has driven efforts to make high-figure-of-merit thermoelectric devices, which require a high electrical conductivity but a low thermal conductivity, a combination that is difficult to achieve. Lowered thermal conductivity has increased efficiency, but at the cost of power output.

An alternative setup is to use metallic junctions rather than semiconductors as thermoelectric devices. Metals have orders of magnitude more electrons and electronic conductivities higher than semiconductors, but thermal conductivity is higher as well. To evaluate the viability of metallic junction thermoelectrics, a two dimensional heat transfer MATLAB simulation was constructed to calculate efficiency and power output. High Seebeck coefficient alloys, Chromel (90%Ni- 10%Cr) and Constantan (55%Cu-45%Ni), produced efficiencies of around 20-30%. Parameters such as the number of layers of junctions, lateral junction density, and junction sizes for both series- and parallel-connected junctions were explored.

The appeal of portable electronic devices is growing gradually, which increases the demand for flexible and renewable energy storage devices. Hybrid materials can be used as renewable and flexible electrode material for this kind of devices. Organic–inorganic hybrid materials represent a creative substitute to design new materials and composites by accepting advantages of both materials. This paper reports the possibility of renewable cellulose and graphene composite as an electrode material for energy storage device such as supercapacitor. The morphology and structure of the nanocomposite are studied using scanning electron microscope and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. The performance of the composite as supercapacitor electrode material is evaluated by cyclic voltammograms and galvanostatic charge-discharge curves.

The development of power transmission by microwave beam power harvesting attracts manufactures for use of wireless power transmission. Optimizing maximum conversion efficiency is affected by many design parameters, and has been mainly focused previously. Combining several rectennas in one array potentially aides in the amount of microwave energy that can be harvested for energy conversion. Closely packed rectenna arrays is the result of the demand to minimize size and weight for flexibility. This paper specifically focuses on the coupling effects on power; mutual coupling, comparing sparameters and gain total while varying effective parameters. This paper investigates how coupling between each dipole positively and negatively affects the microwave energy, harvesting, and the design limitations.

A prototype of the smart walking stick has been designed and characterized for the people who are visually impaired. In this study, it was considered that the proposed system will alert visuallyimpaired people over the obstacles which are in front of blind people as well as the obstacles of the street such as a manhole, when the blind people are walking in the street. The proposed system was designed in two stages, i.e. hardware and software which makes the system as a complete prototype. Three ultrasonic sonar sensors were used to detect in front obstacle and street surface obstacle such as manhole. Basically the sensor transmits an electromagnetic wave which travels toward the obstacle and back to the sensor receiver. The distance between the sensor and the obstacle is calculated from the received signal. The calculated distance value is compared with the pre-defined value and determines whether the obstacle is present or not. The 3D CAD software was used to design the sensor holder. An Up-Mini 3D printer was used to print the sensor holders which were mounted on the walking stick. Therefore, the sensors were fixed in the right position. Another sensor was used for the detecting the water on the walking street. The performance for detecting the obstacles and water indicate the merit of smart walking stick.

Additive manufacturing or 3D printer is one of the most innovative material processing methods. We are considering that human resources for 3D printing would be needed in the future. To educate the abilities of the digital fabrication, we have the public digital fabrication space “Eki-Fab” for junior and high school students and Project Based Learning (PBL) class for undergraduate students. Eki-Fab is held on every Saturday at the Yonezawa train station. In the “Eki-Fab”, anybody can study the utilizing of 3D printer and modeling technics under the instruction of staff in Yamagata University. In the PBL class, we have the class every Thursday. The students get the techniques of the digital fabrication through the PBL.

Cu-based micro-temperature sensors were directly fabricated on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) blood vessel models in EVE using a combined process of spray coating and femtosecond laser reduction of CuO nanoparticles. CuO nanoparticle solution coated on a PDMS blood vessel model are thermally reduced and sintered by focused femtosecond laser pulses in atmosphere to write the sensors. After removing the non-irradiated CuO nanoparticles, Cu-based microtemperature sensors are formed. The sensors are thermistor-type ones whose temperature dependences of the resistance are used for measuring temperature inside the blood vessel model. This fabrication technique is useful for direct-writing of Cu-based microsensors and actuators on arbitrary nonplanar substrates.

The field of developing biomolecular droplet-based materials using a bottom-up approach remains underexplored. Producing tissue-like materials, from entirely synthetic components, presents an innovative method to reconstruct the functions of life within artificial materials. Aqueous droplets, encased with lipid monolayers, may be linked via bilayer interfaces to make up structures that resemble biological tissues. Here we present the design and development of an easy-to-build 3D printer for the fabrication of tissue-like biomolecular materials from cell-sized aqueous droplets. The droplets are generated using a snap off technique, capable of generating 30 droplets per minute. The printed network of droplets may also be functionalized with various types of membrane proteins to achieve desired engineering applications like sensing and actuation, or to mimic electrical communication in biological systems. Voltage sensitive channels are introduced into selected droplets to create a conductive path with the material in the presence of an external field.

Printed organic sensors on flexible substrates have generated great interest due to their flexibility and low cost manufacturing. Methods such as inkjet printing, screen printing, etching or flexography are among many that have been used for the production process. In this paper, we report the fabrication and characterization of a free-standing, high aspect ratio PEDOT:PSS micro cylinder (20 um in diameter and 1 mm height) multi-parameter sensor printed by an inkjet process. Calibration fabrication and preliminary sensor measurement results from the fabricated sensor will be presented and future applications are discussed.

A team of researchers and support organizations, affiliated with the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), has initiated multidiscipline efforts to develop nano-based structures and components for advanced weaponry, aviation, and autonomous air/ground systems applications. The main objective of this research is to exploit unique phenomena for the development of novel technology to enhance warfighter capabilities and produce precision weaponry. The key technology areas that the authors are exploring include nano-based sensors, analysis of 3D printing constituents, and nano-based components for imaging detection. By integrating nano-based devices, structures, and materials into weaponry, the Army can revolutionize existing (and future) weaponry systems by significantly reducing the size, weight, and cost. The major research thrust areas include the development of carbon nanotube sensors to detect rocket motor off-gassing; the application of current methodologies to assess materials used for 3D printing; and the assessment of components to improve imaging seekers. The status of current activities, associated with these key areas and their implementation into AMRDEC’s research, is outlined in this paper. Section #2 outlines output data, graphs, and overall evaluations of carbon nanotube sensors placed on a 16 element chip and exposed to various environmental conditions. Section #3 summarizes the experimental results of testing various materials and resulting components that are supplementary to additive manufacturing/fused deposition modeling (FDM). Section #4 recapitulates a preliminary assessment of the optical and electromechanical components of seekers in an effort to propose components and materials that can work more effectively.

Magnetic nanotubes hold the potential for neuroscience applications because of their capability to deliver chemicals or biomolecules and the feasibility of controlling the orientation or movement of these magnetic nanotubes by an external magnetic field thus facilitating directed growth of neurites. Therefore, we sought to investigate the effects of laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and external alternating magnetic fields on the growth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in cell culture. Magnetic nanotubes were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized to confirm their hollow structure, the hematite and maghemite phases, and the magnetic properties. DRG neurons were cultured in the presence of magnetic nanotubes under alternating magnetic fields. Electron microscopy showed a close interaction between magnetic nanotubes and the growing neurites Phase contrast microscopy revealed live growing neurons suggesting that the combination of the presence of magnetic nanotubes and the alternating magnetic field were tolerated by DRG neurons. The synergistic effect, from both laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and the applied magnetic fields on survival, growth and electrical activity of the DRG neurons are currently being investigated.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are considered one of the most reliable latent heat storage and thermoregulation materials. In this paper, a vinyl monomer is used to provide energy storage capacity and synthesize gel with phase change property. The side chain of copolymer form crystal microcell to storage/release energy through phase change. The crosslinking structure of the copolymer can protect the crystalline micro-area maintaining the phase change stable in service and improving the mechanical strength. By selecting different monomers and adjusting their ratios, we design the chemical structure and the crystallinity of gels, which in further affect their properties, such as strength, flexibility, thermal absorb/release transition temperature, transparency and the water content. Using the light-induced polymerization 3D printing techniques, we synthesize the energy storage gel and shape it on a 3D printer at the same time. By optimizing the 3D printing conditions, including layer thickness, curing time and light source, etc., the 3D printing objects are obtained.

In our 3D food printer, gel food such as gelatin is extruded from syringe and deposited to make a shape. Low viscosity is reasonable when the food is injected. On the other hand, high viscosity or solid state is desirable to keep the food shape after the food is deposited. The selection of the food viscoelastic property is difficult to succeed in the food printing. In general, we need trial and error to appropriate food viscosity. To avoid the trial and error, we are developing a simulation system of 3D food printing using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) which is a kind of particle based simulation method.

The process of conventional 3D printing begins by first build a 3D model, then convert to the model to G-code via a slicer software, feed the G-code to the printer, and finally start the printing. The most simple and popular 3D printing technique is Fused Deposition Modeling. However, in this method, the printing path that the printer head can take is restricted by the G-code. Therefore the printed 3D models with complex pattern have structural errors like holes or gaps between the printed material lines. In addition, the structural density and the material’s position of the printed model are difficult to control. We realized the G-code editing, Fabrix, for making a more precise and functional printed model with both single and multiple material. The models with different stiffness are fabricated by the controlling the printing density of the filament materials with our method. In addition, the multi-material 3D printing has a possibility to expand the physical properties by the material combination and its G-code editing. These results show the new printing method to provide more creative and functional 3D printing techniques.

The 3D printed splint’s light weight, ventilation and water proof are considered as significant improvement for patients’ comfortableness. Somehow, the flexible material is required in the splint to avoid skin friction may cased by its rigid edge, but this would increase the complexity and timeconsuming. In this study, two main techniques to control the infilling densities and printing temperature are applied on printing splint prototype. The gradual increasing of infilling density from splint outside to inside would turn the partial strength from hard to flexible. Besides, higher printing temperature can also achieve stronger hardness after cooling. Such structural can provide high strength in outside surface to keep the immovable function, and give flexible touch of inside surface to decrease friction on the patient’s skin.

Shape memory polymers (SMPs), a typical class of smart materials, have been witnessed significant advances in the past decades. Based on the unique performance to recover the initial shape after going through a shape deformation, the applications of SMPs have aroused growing interests. However, most of the researches are hindered by traditional processing technologies which limit the design space of SMPs-based structures. Three-dimension (3D) printing as an emerging technology endows design freedom to manufacture materials with complex structures. In present article, we show that by employing direct-write printing method; one can realize the printing of SMPs to achieve 4D active shape-changing structures. We first fabricated a kind of 3D printable polylactide (PLA)-based SMPs and characterized the overall properties of such materials. Results demonstrated the prepared PLA-based SMPs presenting excellent shape memory effect. In what follows, the rheological properties of such PLA-based SMP ink during printing process were discussed in detail. Finally, we designed and printed several 3D configurations for investigation. By combining 3D printing with shape memory behavior, these printed structures achieve 4D active shape-changing performance under heat stimuli. This research presents a high flexible method to realize the fabrication of SMP-based 4D active shape-changing structures, which opens the way for further developments and improvements of high-tech fields like 4D printing, soft robotics, micro-systems and biomedical devices.

Protein association starts with random collisions of individual proteins. Multiple collisions and rotational diffusion brings the molecules to a state of orientation. Majority of the protein associations are influenced by electrostatic interactions. To introduce: electrostatic rate enhancement, Brownian dynamics and transient complex theory has been traditionally used. Due to the recent advances in interdisciplinary sciences, an array of molecular assembly methods is being studied. Protein nanostructural assembly and macromolecular crowding are derived from the subsets of biochemistry to study protein-protein interactions and protein self-assembly. This paper tries to investigate the issue of enhancing the protein self-association rate, and bridging the gap between the simulations and experimental results. The methods proposed here include: electrostatic rate enhancement, macromolecular crowing, nanostructural protein assembly, microfluidics based approaches and magnetic force based approaches. Despite the suggestions of several methods, microfluidic and magnetic force based approaches seem to serve the need of protein assembly in a wider scale. Congruence of these approaches may also yield better results. Even though, these methods prove to be conceptually strong, to prevent the disagreement of theory and practice, a wide range of experiments is required. This proposal intends to study theoretical and experimental methods to successfully implement the aforementioned assembly strategies, and conclude with an extensive analysis of experimental data to address practical feasibility.

In this study, we evaluated the mechanical properties of printed structures with respect to the printing orientation for "SWIM-ER". The fracture surface of the 3D modeled object of the gel does not break along the stacked line, and the maximum stress at that time is the breaking strength. Moreover, the dependency in the stacking direction is weak in the 3D model of the gel. The gel printed at high speed scan showed lower elastic modulus and higher moisture content than gel printed at low speed scan. We discussed about crosslinking density calculated based on the compressive elastic modulus and moisture content, respectively. It was found that gels having different crosslinking density can be formed by the scanning speed of UV laser. In addition, we made a prototype of a gel finger model with different mechanical properties within the model.

3D printing, also knows as Additive Manufacturing (AM), was first commercialized in 1986, and has been growing at breakneck speed since 2009 when Stratasys’ key patent expired. Currently the 3D printing machines coming on the market can be broadly classified into three categories from the material state point of view: plastic filament printers, powder (or pellet) printers, film printers and liquid photopolymer printers. Much of the work in our laboratory revolves around the crystalline gels. We have succeeded in developing them with high toughness, high flexibility, particularly with many functions as shape memory, energy storage, freshness-retaining, water-absorbing, etc. These crystalline gels are synthesized by light-induced radical polymerization that involves light-reactive monomer having the property of curing with light of a sufficient energy to drive the reaction from liquid to solid. Note that the light-induced polymerized 3D printing uses the same principle. To open up the possibilities for broader application of our crystalline functional gels, we are interested in making them available for 3D printing. In this paper, we share the results of our latest research on the 3D printing of crystalline gels on light-induced 3D printers.

Copper (Cu)-based micropatterns were fabricated on polymer substrates using femtosecond laser reduction of copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles. CuO nanoparticle solution, which consisted of CuO nanoparticles, ethylene glycol as a reductant agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone as a dispersant, was spin-coated on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrates and was irradiated by focused femtosecond laser pulses to fabricate Cu-based micropatterns. When the laser pulses were raster-scanned onto the solution, CuO nanoparticles were reduced and sintered. Cu-rich and copper (I)-oxide (Cu2O)-rich micropatterns were formed at laser scanning speeds of 15 mm/s and 0.5 mm/s, respectively, and at a pulse energy of 0.54 nJ. Cu-rich electrically conductive micropatterns were obtained without significant damages on the substrates. On the other hand, Cu₂O-rich micropatterns exhibited no electrical conductivity, indicating that microcracks were generated on the micropatterns by thermal expansion and shrinking of the substrates. We demonstrated a direct-writing of Cu-rich micro-temperature sensors on PDMS substrates using the foregoing laser irradiation condition. The resistance of the fabricated sensors increased with increasing temperature, which is consistent with that of Cu. This direct-writing technique is useful for fabricating Cu-polymer composite microstructures.

In this work, we have studied photo-electronic current transport in a back-gated graphene field-effect transistor. Under the light illumination, band bending at the metal/graphene interface develops a built-in potential which generates photonic current at varying back-gate biases. A typical MOSFET type back-gated transistor structure uses a monolayer graphene as the channel layer formed over the silicon dioxide/silicon substrate. It is shown that the photo-electronic current consists of current contributions from photovoltaic, photo-thermoelectric and photo-bolometric effects. A maximum external responsivity close to 0.0009A/W is achieved at 30μW laser power source and 633nm wavelength.

Graphene is a promising material for thermoelectric application due to its large surface-to-volume ratio, high electrical conductivity, and high mechanical strength. In this paper, the thermoelectric properties of a series of narrow armchair graphene nanoribbons (GNR) in semiconducting family GNR(3p+1,0) are evaluated by using the semi-classical Boltzmann theory. It is found that the narrow GNR(7,0) exhibits small thermal conductivity and large TEP of 1170μV / K at small chemical potential μ = 0.1 eV . However, the small electrical conductivity of narrow GNR(7,0) suppresses the thermoelectric figure-of-merit ZT, such that better thermoelectric performance of ZT > 0.01 is achieved only for large chemical potentials, μ > 0.5eV . Our result shows that tuning the chemical potential with respect to ribbon chirality and orientation can enhance the thermoelectric performance of GNRs, however, further increase in thermoelectric power requires phonon engineering to reduce the thermal conductivity of graphene without significant reduction in its thermoelectric power and electrical conductivity.

Grapahene is a two dimensional allotrope of carbon. Since the onset of current century, particularly, upon successful exfoliation of single layer graphene, it has received significant research attention because of some of the extreme mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic and optical properties it exhibits. As various applications of graphene have been envisioned and their realizations attempted, dynamic characteristics of graphene also became an extremely important field of study. Based on solid state physics and first principle analysis, dispersion relationship of graphene has been computed using various methods. Some of these methods rely on various inter atomic potentials and force-fields. An approximate technique of mechanical characterization involves atomisticcontinuum modeling of carbon carbon bonds in graphene and its rolled 1D form carbon nanotube. In this technique, the carbon-carbon bonds are modeled as 1D frame elements. The equivalence of energies in various modes of the actual structure and the equivalent mechanical system has led to specification of various model parameters. Here, based on atomistic continuum method, we attempt to compute the dispersion relationship accounting for the bonded interactions and the next nearest non-bonded interactions. For that purpose we use frequency domain spectral finite element method with pointed inertial components. It has been shown that it is possible to obtain the dispersion relationship close to the one computed using ab-initio method.

Cellulose fibers are strong natural fibers and they are renewable, biodegradable and the most abundant biopolymer in the world. So to develop new cellulose fibers based products, the mechanical properties of cellulose nanofibers would be a key. The atomic microscope is used to measure the mechanical properties of cellulose nanofibers based on 3-points bending of cellulose nanofiber. The cellulose nanofibers were generated for an aqueous counter collision system. The cellulose microfibers were nanosized under 200 MPa high pressure. The cellulose nanofiber suspension was diluted with DI water and sprayed on the silicon groove substrate. By performing a nanoscale 3-points bending test using the atomic force microscopy, a known force was applied on the center of the fiber. The elastic modulus of the single nanofiber is obtained by calculating the fiber deflection and several parameters. The elastic modulus values were obtained from different resources of cellulose such as hardwood, softwood and cotton.

In this paper dispersion characteristics of linear in-homogenous peridynamic bar is presented. The bond-based linear peridynamics model is considered. In-homogeneity in the bar is introduced through the linear micro- modulus function. It is shown that peridynamic bar is a low pass filter with existence of an escape frequency for all linear micro-modulus functions. It is also shown that not all linear micro-modulus functions are physically admissible. A correlation is established between the peridynamics and lattice dynamics with long-range interac- tions. Using the dispersion law of piece-wise linear micro-modulus function with horizon, results of an accurate match to experimental phonon dispersion are presented.

Phononic crystals are synthetic materials with a periodic structure having spatial variations of elasto-inertial properties of constituent materials, aimed at developing devices and bulk material with engineered acoustic/ elastic properties. Multi-material structures with sides of a space filling polygonal tessellation, can constitute solid-solid phononic crystal. Coupled with inclusions and features, phononic crystals show rich and varied band structure phenomenon. We use frequency domain spectral superelement method and Bloch theory to efficiently calculate the band structures of such phononic crystals. We particularly investigate hexagonal honeycombs to assess the impacts of joint elasticity, inertia and circular and elliptical holes on band gap behavior.

The object of this work is a numerical model aimed at predicting the electrical conductivity of polymeric matrices filled with Carbon Nano-Tubes (CNT). The model, developed within the GRAPSS, ”Graphene-Polymeric Spray Sensor for Shape Recognition of Super-Deformable Structures” a National Project entirely funded by CIRA, will be used to address the design of a sprayable sensor aimed at measuring large deformations. The phenomenon of the tunneling, at the basis of the electrical and thermal conductivity of CNT filled polymeric matrices, was modeled through the finite element, FE, approach. Each particle was schematized as a cluster of nodes connected by highly conductive elements, in compliance with the large conductivity of the CNTs. When the tunneling condition was verified between two particles, a link was realized; the specific electrical resistance was computed on the basis of parameters like the mutual distance and the tunnel cross section area. The resulting system, a truss-structure network contained within a reference cubic volume, was then solved through a thermal analogy. The inward and outward currents, passing through two opposite faces of the cube, were simulated by applying thermal fluxes of opposite sign; the voltage drop caused by the global resistance was then estimated through a steady heat transfer analysis, giving the temperature gradient between the opposite faces. The ratio between the voltage drop and the inward-upward current (respectively, the temperature and the heat flux) represented then the global resistance of the cube. A parametric investigation was finally performed, finding out the dependence of the gage factor (strain vs resistance variation) on CNT concentration and aspect ratio parameters (curvature, diameter-length ratio) and the electrical conductivity.

This review focusses on introducing the mechanics in carbon nanotubes (CNT), and the major applications of CNT and its composites in biomedicine. It emphasizes the nanomechanics of these materials by reviewing the widely followed experimental methods, theoretical models, simulations, classification, segregation and applications the aforementioned materials. First, several mechanical properties contributing to the classification of the CNT, for various biomedicine applications, are discussed in detail to provide a cursory glance at the uses of CNT. The mechanics of CNT discussed in this paper include: elasticity, stress, tension, compression, nano-scale mechanics. In addition to these basic properties, a brief introduction about nanoscale composites is given. Second, a brief review on some of the major applications of CNT in biomedicine including drug delivery, therapeutics, diagnostics and regenerative medicine is given.

Raman scattering is a well-known technique for detecting and identifying complex molecular samples. The weak Raman signals are enormously enhanced in the presence of a nano-patterned metallic surface next to the specimen. This paper reports new techniques to obtain the nanostructures required for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) without costly and sophisticated fabrication steps, which are nanoimprint lithography (NIL), electrochemical deposition, electron beam induced deposition, and focus ion beam (FIB). 20 nm Au thicknesses of sputtered Au were deposited on etched household aluminum foil (base substrate) for vitro application. The Raman signal were caused by the Aluminum pre-etched times. In preliminary results, enhancement factors of 10⁶ times were observed from SERS substrate for in vitro measurements. Moreover, the ability to perform in vivo measurements was demonstrated after removing the base aluminum foil substrate. This application allows Raman signals to be obtained from the surface or interior of opaque specimens. The nano-patterned gold may also be coupled in a probe to a remote spectrometer via an articulated arm. This opens up Raman spectroscopy for use in a clinical environment.

This paper presents a comparative study of different classification algorithms for the classification of various types of inter-ply delaminations in smart composite laminates. Improved layerwise theory is used to model delamination at different interfaces along the thickness and longitudinal directions of the smart composite laminate. The input-output data obtained through surface bonded piezoelectric sensor and actuator is analyzed by the system identification algorithm to get the system parameters. The identified parameters for the healthy and delaminated structure are supplied as input data to the classification algorithms. The classification algorithms considered in this study are ZeroR, Classification via regression, Naïve Bayes, Multilayer Perceptron, Sequential Minimal Optimization, Multiclass-Classifier, and Decision tree (J48). The open source software of Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) is used to evaluate the classification performance of the classifiers mentioned above via 75-25 holdout and leave-one-sample-out cross-validation regarding classification accuracy, precision, recall, kappa statistic and ROC Area.

Polyproline forms a unique structure, called polyproline helix. It takes polyproline II helix in water and Polyproline I helix in n-propanol. PP II is known to be a rigid molecule in spite of no hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms, and to play an important role in biological functions such as formation of collagen structure and in the cell-adhesion. In this study, we carried out single molecule force spectroscopy of polyproline with AFM(Atomic Force Microscope) and covalent immobilization of polyproline molecule on gold substrate to evaluate the rigidity of PP II at single molecule level. We found that the force-extension curve of polyproline shows a linear increase, which is unusual and not seen with others homo-polypeptide molecules. These results indicate that the high rigidity of polyproline II helix can be explained by “enthalpic”, not “entropic” driven elasticity.

The optical fiber taper coupled with CMOS has advantages of high sensitivity, compact structure and low distortion in the imaging platform. So it is widely used in low light, high speed and X-ray imaging systems. In the meanwhile, the peculiarity of the coupled structure can meet the needs of the demand in microscopy imaging. Toward this end, we developed a microscopic imaging platform based on the coupling of cellphone camera module and fiber optic taper for the measurement of the human blood samples and ascaris lumbricoides. The platform, weighing 70 grams, is based on the existing camera module of the smartphone and a fiber-optic array which providing a magnification factor of ~6x.The top facet of the taper, on which samples are placed, serves as an irregular sampling grid for contact imaging. The magnified images of the sample, located on the bottom facet of the fiber, are then projected onto the CMOS sensor. This paper introduces the portable medical imaging system based on the optical fiber coupling with CMOS, and theoretically analyzes the feasibility of the system. The image data and process results either can be stored on the memory or transmitted to the remote medical institutions for the telemedicine. We validate the performance of this cell-phone based microscopy platform using human blood samples and test target, achieving comparable results to a standard bench-top microscope.

The eardrum (also known as tympanic membrane, TM) in human auditory system has a curved conical shape with the apex pointing medially. It generally receives airborne sound waves collected by the outer ear, transforms them into mechanical vibrations in the eardrum, and eventually transmits the vibrations to the middle ear, which is similar with acoustic transducers such as microphones. In this research, new approach inspired by the human auditory system is explored to address the challenging difficulties for developing advanced acoustic transducers. In addition, a frequency response function analysis is performed to validate the inverse anti-resonance vibrating structure inspired by human middle ear including ear-drum.

Miniaturized accelerometer is required in many applications, such as, robotics, haptic devices, gyroscopes, simulators and mobile devices. ZnO is an essential semiconductor material with wide direct band gap, thermal stability and piezoelectricity. Especially, well aligned ZnO nanowire is appropriate for piezoelectric applications since it can produce high electrical signal under mechanical load. To miniaturize accelerometer, an aligned ZnO nanowire is adopted to implement active piezoelectric layer of the accelerometer and copper is chosen for the head mass. To grow ZnO nanowire on the copper head mass, hydrothermal synthesis is conducted and the effect of ZnO nanowire length on the accelerometer performance is investigated. Refresh hydrothermal synthesis can increase the length of ZnO nanowire. The performance of the fabricated ZnO accelerometers is compared with a commercial accelerometer. Sensitivity and linearity of the fabricated accelerometers are investigated.

In this paper, poly vinyl chloride (PVC) based nano-hybrid composites of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and barium titanate (BT) are prepared by solution casting technique and their morphology and dielectric characteristics are studied. The presence of barium titanate in hybrid composites is confirmed by X-ray Diffraction. Dielectric and morphological studies of PVC-MWCNT composites and PVC-MWCNT-BT hybrid composites also studied to verify the improvement in dielectric properties of PVC-MWCNT-BT hybrid composite compared to PVC-MWCNT composite. The hybrid composites show improved dielectric properties when BT is incorporated as dielectric filler with multi-walled carbon nanotube in PVC. PVC-MWCNT 1 %-BT 3 % hybrid composite showed the highest dielectric constant and the lowest tan δ value among the composites. This hybrid composite is useful for electromagnetic shielding and supercapacitor applications.

Over the last few years, tremendous amount of research efforts has been conducted on 3D printing materials, methods and systems. Various 3D printer materials in different size, shape and geometry can be used for advanced designs, modeling, and manufacturing for different industrial applications. In the present study, dog bone shape specimen was designed via a CATIA CAD model, and then printed by a 3D printer using a polymeric filament (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene - ABS). Some of the prepared samples were heat treated at 40 °C, 60 °C, and 80 °C for 30 minutes, while the others were exposed to the UV light in a chamber for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The surface and mechanical properties of the conditioned samples were determined using water contact angle and tensile test units, respectively. The test results indicated that the heat treatment process increased the mechanical properties; however, the UV exposure tests significantly reduced the water contact angle and properties of the samples. During these studies, undergraduate engineering students were involved in the tests, and gained a lot of hands-on research experiences.

Many of the sunscreens are used during the hot summer time to protect the skin surface. However, some of ingredients in the sunscreens, such as oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate and synthetic fragrances including parabens, phthalates and synthetic musk may disrupt the cells on the skin and create harmful effects to human body. Natural oils may be considered for substitution of harmful ingredients in sunscreens. Many natural oils (e.g., macadamia oil, sesame oil, almond oil and olive oil) have UV protective property and on top of that they have natural essences. Among the natural oils, olive oil has a long history of being used as a home remedy for skincare. Olive oil is used or substituted for cleanser, moisturizer, antibacterial agent and massage reliever for muscle fatigue. It is known that sun protection factor (SPF) of olive oil is around eight. There has been relatively little scientific work performed on the effect of olive oil on the skin as sunscreen. With nanoencapsulation technique, UV light protection of the olive oil can be extended which will provide better coverage for the skin throughout the day. In the present study, natural olive oil was incorporated with DI water and surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate - SDS) and sonicated using probe sonicators. Sonication time, and concentrations of olive oil, DI water and surfactant were investigated in detail. The produced nanoemulsions were characterized using dynamic light scattering, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. It is believed that the nanoencupsulation of olive oil could provide better skin protection by slow releasing and deeper penetration of the nanoemulsion on skin surface. Undergraduate engineering students were involved in the project and observed all the process during the laboratory studies, as well as data collection, analysis and presentation. This experience based learning will likely enhance the students’ skills and interest in the scientific and engineering studies.